Sunscreen

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I am not sure whether anyone else has this issue but...
Australian summers are ruthless, the temperature will often get in to the 40's plus we have the 'hole in the ozone layer' downunder so..DS needs to wear sunscreen, there are just no exception but he has started to get really upset about putting it on, he runs away from me and tries to hide and gets really uncooperative...any ideas? Clearly this is a sensory issue and he isn't just doing it to aggravate me but there is no alternative...apart from skin cancer

Mine are NT's but I can tell you that when a kid wants to go outside, trying to make them wait to put on sunscreen is like nailing Jell-O to a tree. Almost impossible. There are spay on sunscreens for kids that you can use. You spray them on like you do bug spray. It doesn't take a minute to get them covered with it.

It might be worth it to look into finding one.

If you can't find any there, you might could get an online friend from somewhere else to send you some.

Frances

I detest the feel and sometimes smell of most sunscreens. Greasy yuck. Can't stand coconut. The thought of the spay just makes me shudder, but that's me. Maybe try a different texture or scent? Or just do it anyway.

I could certainly see why he would run away if you tried to "spay" him to. I certainly would run away if you tried that on me.....

Have you tried asking him why he doesn't like the sunscreen? You could always let him get sunburned a few times, he might change his mind about the sunscreen.

Have you tried lotion and spray? Maybe try to find an no-fragrance added one...it could be the smell. I think its just trying out different kinds and seeing which is least offensive. Maybe you could buy a couple kinds and then make a fun "experiment day" out of it and make predictions about which one will be the best feeling, then try them (a little!) and test your hypothesis. Then maybe he will feel like he got to pick and it was fun?

A social story on WHY we need it will also help!

I always loved the smell of the Coppertone suntan lotion with some sunscreen, from back in the 70's.

The spray may be easier for mine because they are used to being sprayed with Off bug spray before going out. Or were when they were little. Mosquito's are terrible here in the summer, and they always got sprayed, so they were used to associating a spray with going outside.

Maybe if you put it on him every time he goes outside, so he gets used to the association? Even when it's cloudy or raining?

Frances

Yep, we had this problem too. (DS 4 1/2, DD almost 3). Mostly sensory for our DS and partly just inability to be still while applying it. Two things helped: 1) Applying it BEFORE getting out of the car or leaving the house. Of course re-applying is an issue.
2) We bought one of those sunscreen 'sticks' (like a glue stick but sunscreen ) And letting him do most of it himself while we got the spots he missed helped. Seems he could regulate the pressure/sensation and it helped him. Also was fun for him.

I hear you. I'm currently winning the sunscreen battle, sort of, but losing the hat war (with Mr nearly 4). UV is brutal here in NZ too...
Have you tried a roll on, some kids here enjoy doing that themselves, sort of like painting themselves. My son was also intrigued when we tried one of those kid's ones that is blue in the bottle but disappears when you rub it in. Other than that, my suggestion is to start lathering him in cream morning noon and night to desensitise him....and to be very clear that he CANNOT go outside without it (but wait til there is something he actually wants to do outside til you introduce that one....!).

Do report back if you find anything that works!

My son likes the face sticks the best, I guess because they don't run with sweat as much. I'd try the gambit.

Or buy screened clothing and hats. Quite a few people who don't like the chemicals in sunscreen are going that route.

Even as a grown adult, I find suncreen to be one of the most horrible products known to existence. The smell of it is overwhelmingly terrifying. I cannot enjoy anything at all within the miasma surrounding a person wearing sunscreen. Also the touch of it covering my skin is awful. It is so intense I could barely, barely comprehend human speech when wearing it. It really has one of the worst smells I have ever known, worse than rotting food, worse than anything. Bearing severe burns afterwards was much more tolerable than being forced to wear that stuff.

My four-year-old used to hate sunscreen, but now he will wear it.

The ABA therapist worked with him by putting just a little of it on him at a time and telling him that it would prevent sunburn. She practiced putting it on him on days that he was not even going to be exposed to much sun.

I think that trying different brands and scents might help, too.

Mine prefers the face sticks, too. The sprays are kind of like the shower or the rain and feel extra weird to him. The lotion is too goopy. The face sticks are preferable, and he will tolerate it better knowing he doesn't have to do, the other choices.

My friend's son with asd was very tolerant of the powder type of sunscreen. This might work if it is sensory issues around the feel of the lotion or spray on his skin.
http://www.sephora.com/browse/product.jhtml?id=P232115
We haven't tried it but I know it was the only thing my friend's son would let her use on him.

As others have suggested, try the frangrance free variety of lotion or spray if it seems to be the smell that bothers him.

For us in the summer we needed to apply sunscreen before DS went to summer camp for the day. I blamed it on the director of the childcare center. I told DS that it was Linn's rule that all kids had to put on sunscreen before they could come to camp. He LOVED going to summer camp so this usually got him to submit to the treatment!

A hat is also always a good idea, thankfully our DS is happy to wear one, I know other kids object to them. I was relieved that even if I couldn't get him to let me get much sunscreen on him that he would wear his hat most of the time and that his face and head would be protected.

neutrogena products have a very mild scent, they go on smooth (not sticky) and absorb into the skin. my son hates sunscreen too but he lets me put neutrogena on him.